For the Love of Honor
by Larania Drake
Summary: This is a retelling of the story of She-Ra. This is the beginning, with more to follow.
1. Default Chapter Title

****

For the Love of Honor

A retelling of the story of She-Ra

Disclaimer: She-Ra and all related characters are owned by Filmation, not me. I make no money from this.

Note: I will be retelling this, and will be making some changes. It will be a little darker, for one thing. I will also be making some changes to the basic wardrobe.

Prologue

They were trying to take her babies away.

Queen Marlena had been sleeping the sleep of the heavily medicated, having only given birth a few hours before. It had been a hard labor, and there had been some complications. She had gone to bed, with the newborns asleep as well, in a cradle in her room. That was why she missed the invasion.

The Horde, they called themselves, had arrived without warning. 

The fight that was going on in the halls of the Palace had not touched the Queen yet, for she slept so soundly. 

Until they burst into her room.

Marlena's fogged mind was barely able to register that there were people in her room, until the sound of a baby's cry cut through the cloud of her thoughts.

Her eyes opened wide, and she was aware of a man covering her with a stunner, and another, much larger and in armor with a hideous bat-like crest on the breastplate, reaching for the crib.

"NO!" Marlena screamed, and flung the covers that held her down on her guard. 

She staggered to her feet, and did her best fall over to the intercom by the bedside. As her hand snaked over the controls to call security, the butt of a blaster slammed down, crushing her hand.

"OOWW!" the Queen sobbed, not at the sound of her own bones breaking, but at the wails of her newborn children.

Crawling, slipping and sliding, the Queen did her best to evade her attacker, who seemed to enjoy watching her antics. She saw crib, and struggled over to them. There was no way that she could get them to safety, but she could protect them with her own body. 

A harsh laugh followed her as she overturned the crib, getting the twins out. She curled herself around them, hugging them, telling the little ones that it was all right, mommy was there.

The laugh turned into full-fledged guffaws. 

"Oh, no," said the cold voice from behind her. "I don't want to _kill_ your children. I have something so much more _interesting _in mind." 

That was the last thing she heard, along with her babies' cries, before the monster's blaster spat, and she was carried away to oblivion.

"What happened?" Marlena heard herself asking.

At first, she didn't know why. All she remembered was going to the delivery room, and the joy that she felt when her husband presented her with the twins, Adam and Adora.

It looked eerily the same. She was in the hospital wing, with her husband Randar beside her, holding her hand. Only now, he looked so tired.

That didn't make any sense. What about this could make him look so sad, so battered? He was a father. Wasn't that what he wanted?

She reached out with her right hand to try to reassure him, but the pain of pasted bones stopped her, and the memory of what happened came back.

"OH, GOD!" she wailed, wondering what had happened to her babies. 

Now tears were on her husband's face, too.

Duncan was the one that answered her. "They were called the Horde. We don't know what they wanted, other than to create havoc. They came in, and overwhelmed us. We managed to get them out of the Palace, but that was just a diversion. They headed to your bedroom.

"We had planted extra guards on your suite, but they are dead, now. They… They…"

"They took them," she whispered, finishing the sentence that he had been unable to say.

"Only Adora," said Randar, who had been silent until then. "Man-at-Arms had been able to get there before their leader, Hordak, got to Adam."

"Only!" she almost screamed in rage, but the look on Randar's face made her stop. "Only." She had started to cry again.

Randar gathered her into his arms, mangled hand and all, and they cried for their daughter.

"They came from another dimension," interrupted Duncan finally. "We don't know which one it was, and there is no way for us to get her back."

"Oh, no," was all that she said.

The Princess was gone, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

The pain was overwhelming, but they needed to go on. 

The Sorceress, who understood their pain far better than they could ever know, gave them a gift, one that would make things… a little easier.

She made the world forget. So many things out there were constantly reminding the royal couple about their pain, and there was nothing else that could make it better. So, she made the whole world forget. It wasn't a lightly made choice. In fact, she wrung her heart about making the decision, but finally, casting her hand out over the world, she told them, that it had never happened, and that there was only one royal child.

Only the King, the Queen, and their old friend Duncan, knew the truth. 

And so, the years went by.


	2. Default Chapter Title

****

For the Love of Honor, Chapter 1

Disclaimer: She-Ra belongs to Filmation, not me, and I make no money from this whatsoever.

Note: I will doing a rewrite, and because of some lapses of memory, will not be able to put in every single detail.

"What do you plan to do with the child?" asked Shadow Weaver in annoyance. The newest member of the Horde was demanding attention in a way that none of the members of Horak's council could manage, let alone get away with.

The little girl was crying. 

Hordak looked at the tiny child, who was now about three days old. He had put her in a crate, largely because there was nothing else he could think to do with her. There was a bad smell coming from her, one that he didn't know what to about. He had placed her and the large box beside him. There were few that he would trust with his prize.

Hordak was back in the Fright Zone, sitting on the throne that he had been his for generations.

Below him, in a loose ring at the base of his throne, stood his "loyal" soldiers.

Those that stood below him, while useful, were about as loyal as hyenas. Only those that he let within reach of himself where considered "trustworthy". It was one of the mostly widely sought after desires of any of his officers to be allowed within speaking range.

"Honestly, don't you know anything about babies?" said a voice, and Hordak was confronted by one of his generals. 

Her name was Silver Wolf, and she was standing on the dais with him, only a few feet from Shadow Weaver.

Hordak trusted Shadow Weaver, largely because their relationship went far beyond what was customary between ruler and subject. Only Silver Wolf, however, would ever speak to him like an equal

Silver Wolf was a brilliant tactician. It had been she that had planned the attack on the palace after he had decided to assault it, and it had been she that had held the stunner on the queen while Hordak had stolen the babe.

"I do not think that such a thing would be needful for me to know. Odd, isn't it, that one of my greatest generals would have such, unnecessary, knowledge."

For a few moments, she represented the wolf that was her namesake, with her silver white hair and ice-blue eyes. A wolf, the Horde leader thought, with her hackles up.

"You need to change her diaper, and get her fed."

"I, uh-" snorted the dreadful leader.

Anger crackled through the room. 

"Who are you to admonish me?! Your strategy wasn't enough to get us both twins, and we lost the battle for Eternia!"

"I was the one who told you not to trust Skeletor."

The two stared at each other, until it was Hordak that dropped his eyes.

A thought lit the Master of the Horde's face. He thrust the whimpering infant at the startled general.

"Here! Since you obviously know what you are doing, then you will raise her!"

"Me?!" 

"Yes. You are due for retirement, are you not?"

"I-" the surprise in her voice was enough to convince Hordak that this was what he should do. It never occurred to him doubt her sincerity. Nor would he have ever thought that she would have an agenda of her own.

Only Shadow Weaver saw the strange look that crossed the old general's face when she hugged the infant to her chest. Only she thought, even briefly, that someone might have plans of her own.

Silver Wolf, as she was packing to go, looked down at her new charge.

Now that the girl-child was fed, cleaned, and no longer feeling like she was about to be stepped on, she was sleeping soundly.

"Well, little Adora, you will have one heck of a fate awaiting you."

A large wolf bitch sat on Silver's bed. Gently laying the girl next to her, the wolf squirmed in next to her, and nuzzled the infant.

"She doesn't need to nurse again," Silver told her old friend.

Silver had befriended this pack of wolves when she had come to Etheria. They had given her the name that she used, and she had protected their range as best she could.

Sitting down again, Silver picked the baby up again, and cuddled her. Adora yawned, and opened her amazingly blue eyes.

Smiling, Silver said again," Yes, one heck of a fate."

Adora was in trouble.

She ducked, hearing one of the enemy missals barely miss her head. Adora retaliated, throwing one of her own snowballs.

It hit her best friend, Sundar, in the chest, and he went down with a groan.

"You won't win, Rebel scum!" he screamed out at her, as the other children went after her outnumbered forces.

"We will fight to the death!" Little Adora proclaimed, launching into a speech, which, for five years old, was quite good.

"I will never surrender!" she said as she made her last stand by the flag of her snow fort. Adora had barely gotten this out before she was hit by two snowballs in the face.

She went down screaming and moaning. Sundar came up and piled her "dead body" along with her other friends together and they did a victory dance.

It was one the rare snow days in the outskirts of the Whispering Woods. Aunt Silver, who taught school to those children whose parents would allow, had let them out today, saying that it was only fair.

"All right, you kids," said the kindly voice of Aunt Silver. "Time to come in before you catch your deaths!"

"Aw, Aunt Silver," said Sundar, "We just beat the Rebels!"

While Aunt Silver was technically Adora's aunt, every one of the children of the village called her that. She was the one that they went to ask for advice, to pour out their woes, and to bandage their skinned knees. 

She was something of a mystery to the villagers, having shown up nearly five years ago with a baby that obviously wasn't hers under her arm. A huge black dog was the only thing that seemed overly strange about her.

"Adora, now come _inside_," Aunt Silver again admonished, striding over and picking up the little girl. "You're all wet."

Sundar had started to bury several of his friends in snow, but then, Lobo, the huge dog, bounded out of Adora's snow fort. He pinned the boy, and began washing him with his tongue.

Giggling, it was one of those great memories of childhood. It was something that Adora would use to rib Sundar for years.

Dragging the giggling little girl into their tiny cabin, with the rest of the children trucking in behind her, Silver looked over the girl that had been in her care, and smiled at what she saw.

Adora was a good mix from both her parents, she thought. She had her mother's sense of adventure, and her father's talent for leadership.

And temper, she reminded herself. That showed when she had tried to brain one of the larger boys of the village after he had picked on Sundar.

Silver had just picked up a towel, and was briskly rubbing the little girl dry. "Aunt Silver!" Adora protested as the rough towel ran over her. Sundar started to laugh at his friend, but that was turned around when it was his turn.

" Don't do that!"

Five years later

"Who were my parents?" asked Adora.

It had hardly been the first time that she had done so, but she would get the response that she would always have.

"They were good people, dear. I wish that you could have known them."

"Are you my mom's sister, or my dad's sister?"

"Neither, dear."

"Did they love me?"

Smiling, Aunt Silver ruffled the little girl's hair. "Very much."

This was a conversation that would be repeated several times in the next years, but this was the first time that the question was asked, " Where are they?"  
Silver Wolf hated the fact that she would have to lie to her adopted daughter, but it wasn't time yet for her to know. It would be many, many years until then.

"They're dead," she said in a sad voice.

"NO! Aunt Silver, why didn't you tell me!"

Gathering her into her arms, Silver Wolf held Adora while she cried her heart out.

****

Two years later

"Do you have any idea where she is?" asked Sundar, giving the area a good looking around.

"I have no idea. Sometimes she does this, disappearing for a few hours, and no one knows where she goes," Adora said in a singsong voice. It was kind of cute, but she was getting worried.

"Well, you think we should try using some of that stuff she was teaching us?" asked Sundar, who was now trying to get a good look at the ground to see if he could find any tracks.

"Don't you think we should check the village first?" asked Adora, but she was also looking at the ground.

"I don't- wait! I see her foot prints!"

While for someone who had only been practicing tracking for a few months, it was a very big accomplishment. But, then, Aunt Silver had very big feet, and her boots were unlike anyone else's in the village.

The two children followed the tracks, until they came to something that was just plain weird.

"The tracks keep going, but they turn into wolf paws," said Adora, confusion making her voice low.

"Do you have anything better to do?" asked Sundar, when it she asked him if he wanted to keep on following them.

The tracks didn't get any less clear, but there were more of them. In fact, they got more and more of them, until-

"It's a wolf pack!" shouted Sundar.

All the eldest villagers had spoken to the children repeatedly at the danger the wolves represented to their people. Only Aunt Silver had ever given them any real defense, and years of boogey stories combined with adrenaline to send the tow children flying.

"AHHH!"

They dashed to the village, where they saw something that shocked them even more.

The village had been gutted.

"What, what happened?" Adora whispered.

"It was the rebels, lass," whispered a voice from one of the burnt out buildings.

"Who's there?" asked Sundar.

Adora gave a soft gasp when she saw who it was. It was one of the hunters that regularly went into lands surrounding the Whispering Woods. He had often entertained the children with his stories.

He was sitting in a pool of his own blood, the left side of his body covered in burns.

The elder man had managed to pull himself up into a sitting position. Adora had already pulled off her over-tunic, and was ripping it to shreds to make bandages.

Sundar started checking him for other injuries.

The hunter coughed, Sundar got up from his side to find some water.

"What happened?" Adora asked, wondering how the rebels could have caused such an atrocity.

"They, they were looking for someone. We don't know who. They said that since we weren't aligned with either side, then we weren't any better than those that openly were members of the Horde."

"And they said they were the good guys!" yelled Sundar. He had just returned, holding a skin of water. Suddenly, his eyes went wide.

"My family!" he shouted, dropping the water and running.

Adora was able to keep of enough presence of mind to hand the hunter his water before she too went searching for Sundar's home.

Adora was a fast runner, but Sundar had a good start, but when she saw what had happened to Sundar's home, she braked so hard that she slid to a stop.

They were dead. His mother, father, and little sister were all laid out in front of their farmhouse, with their throats cut.

The sheer brutality of it, the lack of dignity, was horrible. The house was burned, the people were lined up, and you could see the order that they were killed in. They started with the mother, and left the little girl for last.

"She had to watch…" Adora croaked in a hushed voice. She had never seen anyone dead before. Sundar was on the ground next to the bodies, crying.

"What do we do?" he sobbed, over and over, in a litany. 

"I don't know," cried Adora, sinking to the ground beside him.

The sun had been casting long shadows already when Sundar and Adora had gone looking for Silver, and by now, the sun had disappeared over the horizon, and only one of the moons was up. It cast a garishly pale light, making things look like some sort of black and white picture.

"I don't know. Why would anyone do this? We should join the Horde!" Adora finally ended up howling to the uncaring night. 

The night went on, and all they could bring themselves to do was keep up their gruesome vigil. The only thing that disturbed their shock was when a wolf bayed at the moon. 

There was some light coming from the smoldering house, and in the flickering light, Adora saw something that made her feel like she had been hit on the head with a plank.

It was pack of wolves. In fact, it was the same pack that she had seen earlier. All the old stories of wolves coming to rob the dead for their bones came frantically to mind, and Adora shook her catatonic friend's shoulder. He looked up, and saw something different.

"Aunt..Silver?" he said in a breaking voice.

Adora peered through the thick night, and saw the familiar outline of her guardian. She was wearing her usual old woolen dress, but her hair was loose and wild, totally out of character, and she had no shoes.

"What happened here?" Silver asked, feeling like she had been run through. Sundar's family had been well respected in their small village. There was no reason for them to have been killed in such a way…

Sundar started to babble, running to her and telling them what had happened that afternoon.

"And then, and then-"

She put her arms around him, and let him cry his arms out.

"The rebels did this," Sundar finally said. He looked into Silver's face, and all the childishness that it might once have held was lost. Now, he held the look of someone that was emotionally dead, beyond the pain, but wanting to make others feel what he wouldn't allow himself.

Taking a deep breath, Sundar said steadily," The Horde academy takes people my age, don't they?"

Silver could see where this was going. It wrung her heart.

"Yes, they do," she answered. It was destiny, and she had no right to interfere. Only, if she could only…

"I'm joining."

"If that is what you want."

The rest of the night was taken up with building a funeral pyre for those that had been slain. Sundar wasn't alone in the deaths of his family.

Those that had survived the attack had gathered around, and they were mourning. It was all that they could do. Right then, they tried to focus on that, and not on the fact that their supplies of food had been stolen, and that they were not likely to survive the winter. 

It was only later that Adora asked about the wolf pack.

She felt vaguely guilty about not being with her best friend, who was now packing for his trip to the Fright Zone, but the mystery of the wolves was still very much on her mind. 

Her cabin had been spared, largely because it was so far away from the others of the village. She was in her room, looking out of her window at the eerie light that shone only when one of the moons was out.

She heard the soft footfall of her aunt.

"What do the wolves have to do with anything?" she asked softly.

"They are my friends."

Turning from the washed out view before her, Adora faced the shadowed face of her aunt. "I was told all my life that wolves were evil."

A strange smile flit across Silver's features. "Don't believe everything you hear, love. One of those wolves nursed you when you were a baby."

"How?" was all Adora could get out. After all the shocks of the day, you would think that something like that would be mundane. 

She wished. 

"But, why didn't the wolf eat me?"

Laughter, even though it was slightly hysterical, was the last thing that Adora expected.

"Why would she? She had just had pups herself."

"But-" that was the best thing that Adora could think to say.

Walking over to her, Silver Wolf gave Adora a kiss on the forehead. "If you need to talk about it, my bedroom door is open, you know that. You need to get some sleep, though. We will be taking Sundar to the Horde tomorrow."

To be continued…


	3. Default Chapter Title

****

For the Love of Honor, Part 2

Disclaimer: She-Ra belongs to Filmation, not me, and I make no money from this.

The trio of Sundar, Adora and Silver Wolf made their winding way to the Fright Zone.

A few days ago, the Rebellion had destroyed the village that had been the home of the two children and their teacher. Sundar, in his grief and rage, had decided to join the Horde.

"_It is a good thing that war is so terrible,_" whispered Silver Wolf. "_We should come to be too fond of it."_

"Aunt Silver?" asked Adora, puzzled. This was not the first time that she had quoted some obscure author or leader, but that didn't make it any easier for the twelve-year-old to understand her Aunt.

Silver Wolf came out of her reverie. "I was thinking about how awful war truly is, little one. This land, Etheria, was a peaceful one, once. Though, in truth, I guess there was as much conflict here as there is anywhere else. I never was able to study what life was like here before the Horde came."

All three were mounted on some old plow horses. They didn't make much more speed than they would have walking, but it was going to be a long trip.

Turning in her saddle, Adora looked at her in surprise. "Where are you from, anyway?"

"Somewhere far, far away."

Adora wondered if all adults spoke like oracles. She hoped that she wouldn't have to put up with that when she was an adult herself.

It had been a long, boring day, with nothing but their grief to keep them company. They were going through the lands controlled by the Horde, and Adora was confused by what she saw. They weren't any better off than anyone else. That went against everything she had ever heard. Did the town criers always say that the Horde brought prosperity to their people?

They were about the same, Adora realized, because they are better off, but pay higher taxes. She could see that when she noticed the well-fed troops that swaggered around, doing their level best to convince the townsmen that they were their betters.

"At least the Horde protects them," Sundar whispered miserably.

"There is that," Adora agreed.

Only then, did several of the troopers notice them. They came surrounded them, taking a good look at their horses.

"My men are needing some new beasts," a voice said, coming from a man with bright red plumage on his helm. 

"I think your men are beasts," said Aunt Silver, her voice dripping with contempt.

"Who are you, woman, to give a Horde Captain such rudeness?" asked the fancy-plumed man.

Getting easily down from her horse, Adora saw a side of her gentle Aunt that she had never seen before. She was haughty, regal, with an air of command about her that made you immediately do whatever it was that she wanted.

"I am General Silver Wolf, Sergeant."

Not only the troopers, but also the citizens of the town quickly whispered the name, "General Silver Wolf," in astonishment as well.

The captain's eyes made a pair of huge holes in his head, as the name struck home.

That didn't stop him for long. Recovering his bravado, he retorted, "Anyone can claim the name of that great general. I will not allow that supreme warrior to be insulted."

"How many other warriors can do-" she was already on the ground, but she then kicked her boots off, "This!"

Tossing her head back, she uttered the deepest, most bone-chilling howl that they had ever heard. Her silver hair turned into a thick ruff of fur and the landed on all fours. 

The fur rapidly spread across her body, covering her from head to foot, and her body reshaped itself. It was spectacular to watch.

It was over in a few seconds, with the Hordesmen all but tripping over each other to apologize. 

Having returned to her human form, Aunt Silver remounted her horse, and made to ride away.

"Please, please, milady, let us give you an escort, supplies, anything!" shouted the Captain.

"I'm sorry, sergeant," she answered him. "But you don't have the authority to do that any more."

"But, but, I'm a captain!"

"Not any more."

Turning to the man with the had the symbol of second in command, she told him, "Inform the Fright Zone that General Silver Wolf is returning, and that she requests a meeting with Lord Hordak."

"Yes Ma'am!" he shouted, sounding like he was afraid that she would choke him. He ran to do her business.

Turning her mount's head, she motioned for her two charges, that were gaping at her like she was still a wolf, to continue on.

"Aunt Silver?" squeaked Adora.

"Yes?"

"What_was_that_ all about? Are you really a general? Why did you leave? How come you never told us? What is going on?"

"There are several things that I didn't tell you, largely because I was retired. I decided that I needed a vacation. When Hordak decided that I was to raise you, I took that chance."

Adora looked stricken. "You mean that the only reason that you raised me was so that you could have a vacation?"

"NO! What I meant was, Hordak put you in my care. That has nothing to do with the way that I felt about you." She turned around, and put her arms out to the young Adora, her face filled with horror that the girl might think that.

"Then how come you didn't tell us?" asked Sundar. He had been almost forgotten in the little drama, and the two females both jumped at hearing his voice.

"Because I wanted to live in peace. I have seen enough war in my lifetime to make anyone wary of it." She had a far away look for a moment. "Of course, my lifetime has been longer than most."

There wasn't really all that much that could be said after that. Though the two youths wanted to ask more questions about Silver Wolf's past, she wouldn't answer them, and it took them several days for them to get to the Fright Zone.

The silence of the place was unnerving, thought Adora.

She had never been there before, but the smell seemed, familiar?

The soldiers at their posts never moved, never seemed to acknowledge that she was there. It was like they didn't know or care that someone was entering their domain. Or less, it was because they were so used to being the most powerful, that that they thought that anyone else was a joke.

"Then why couldn't they have stopped the rebels from destroying us?" she whispered softly, to herself.

It was then that Aunt Silver made the only criticism that she would ever make of the Horde, where she could here it.

"Because they didn't care."

As she said this, some of the ceremonial troops that continuously protected Lord Hordak surrounded them. They formed up an honor guard, and asked, "General Silver Wolf, would you care to don your usual uniform before entering the presence of Hordak?"

Nodding her head graciously, Silver Wolf dismounted, and gave the scared-out-of-their minds youngsters an encouraging wink. 

"What do we do now?" Sundar mumbled.

It was then that a man in the outfit of the Horde Training Academy came over to them.

"Sundar?" he asked, his voice booming. Sundar responded, looking like he was afraid that he would be eaten. "Come with me."

So Adora was left there, beginning to tremble with nerves. 

"So, you are Adora," a soft voice hissed in her ear. Turning, Adora saw a shifty, shadowy form detach itself from a wall. Yellow eyes glowed out of the hood that covered the face, making it impossible to see.

There was a horrible feeling, like icy picks being slashed through her mind. "YAHH!" she moaned.

"What are you doing to me?" sobbed Adora, not knowing what was going on.

"Just seeing how you have turned out, dearie. And, I see that Silver Wolf truly has raised you well. Unfortunately."

"What do you mean? What are you doing to me?" Adora shouted, dismounting from her horse and trying to run. 

"After her," hissed Shadow Weaver. 

Adora switched directions when several Troopers blocked her way, and she ran deeper into the Fright Zone.

"AUNT!" she yelled, trying to find the woman that had raised her. She desperately looked into the rooms down the passage that she had disappeared down.

Silver Wolf had been changing into her old uniform when she heard her niece's cries. She was shocked, but old reflexes took over. Dashing out, she ran to the hallway-

In time to see the two troopers grab Adora and haul her away.

Following, half dressed, Silver Wolf saw Shadow Weaver stand over Adora, and begin to chant a spell. The girl was screaming.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Wolf shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Putting her under a spell of compulsion."

Silver Wolf raised an eyebrow. "By who's authority?"

"Mine," came a harsh voice, followed by a disgusting snort.

"I wanted this child back years ago, Silver Wolf, but you hid her. I had to destroy the village that you were hiding in to get you to come out again."

"So, I take it, then, that I am under arrest for treason?" said the sarcastic voice of Silver Wolf.

"Who said anything about an arrest?" Hordak smiled, and his arm transformed into a cannon. 

Adora was screaming, struggling against her captors, when Hordak fired. The last thing she saw as a free woman was her protector crumpling to the ground, a large, gory hole where her heart used to be…

Thirteen year old Adora stood across the practice mat from Catra. Adora was sparring with the older recruits because she was so far above them already. In fact, the instructors were already grooming her for command rank, and not just because of her patronage.

Catra struck out with an open hand, trying to claw at her opponent's eyes. Adora was able to swiftly duck, and hit Catra with an uppercut to the jaw, sending her off balance. Catra, though, wasn't her greatest adversary for nothing. Regaining her center, she snap-kicked to Adora's knee. There was a sickening crunch, but she didn't go down. Fighting past the pain of a hyper-extended knee, Adora threw herself forward, and with a jab and a cross, she knocked Catra out.

There was the sound of applause from the door.

It was Lord Hordak. Adora wanted to go to her master, but her leg wouldn't allow it.

At least I won't shame myself with tears, she told herself.

"Well done, Adora. We will make a Hordeswoman of you yet," he sneered, trying to make it look like a smile.

Glowing with the compliment despite the pain, she was about to say something, but Hordak went on.

"But you should have done better, and as punishment, you will have to get yourself to the medical bay, without help."

He turned and left, along with everyone else.

Biting back tears of agony, Adora started the long process of dragging herself to the medical bay.

Adora woke up with a scream.

It was that dream again, the one that had haunted her since she had been old enough to actually take part in her Horde Academy training. 

Shivering as cold air hit her sweaty arms and face, she pulled up the covers that had fallen off in the night.

"I wish I knew where those dreams were coming from," she said to herself, and sighed, shuddering. "I've lived in the Fright Zone my whole life. Why would I dream about someone else raising me, and that I had parents other than my father Hordak?" 

Even as she said that, her mouth twisted on the words. She knew that Hordak wasn't her real father, that much was obvious. He had rescued her, though, after the rebellion had destroyed their village when she was a baby.

He had raised her since hen.

Now, at fifteen, she was already at the rank of lieutenant.

Getting up, she walked down the halls of the barracks that she lived in, to the community bathrooms to get some water.

"Crap," she said when she got there, because someone was cleaning in there, and she didn't want to be caught awake. 

Slipping away, she came face to face with-

"My lord Hordak," she whispered is shock. 

It was the first time she had seen him out of armor, and it was also the first time he had seen her out of uniform.

She really, really didn't like the way he was looking at her. The way he was glancing at how she had grown in the past year was making her sick, and for a moment, their gazes locked.

His hand reached out to touch her bare shoulder, where her night shift had slipped.

She stood there, locked in place. His hand drifted from her shoulder, and down…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn that witch," Hordak snarled, as he again slammed Adora on to a gurney to be taken to Shadow Weaver. 

"What is wrong, Mighty Hordak?" asked Mantenna, his eyes popping out.

"Shadow Weaver can't keep the spell of forget on her long enough any more," he snarled, his face twisting into a grimace.

"What?"

"Silver Wolf, blast her hide, gave her training in the things that we are already teaching her, and perverted it! She taught the "articles of war," and to spare civilians! Thanks to her, Adora has too strong a personality to forget things for too long, and every time we try to remake it, we risk wiping out the very things that make her such an-" he let out a deep, gut tearing sound of disgust," asset to us."

"Why not kill her, Mighty One?"

"I can't you fool!" Hordak shouted, making Mantenna back up into the wall behind them. "She is more intelligent than anyone else here, and if I do," here, his voice became contemplative," someone will replace her."

"Replace her?"

"What, is there an echo in here? Yes, she has a fate that says she will do something amazing, and if she is killed, someone else will take her place, someone that we don't know, and can't control."

Mantenna saw the look on Hordak's face, which was murderous.

"I'll just be leaving," he said in a rush, and left.

His face taking on an expression of delight, Hordak turned his arm into a whip. The best way to help the spell of Shadow Weaver's along was to torture the one it was cast on, and that was something Hordak definitely enjoyed.

Commander Adora looked at her troops, and nearly burst with pride.

Today was the first of the war games, and her squad was being pitted against Catra's.

Adora walked over to the command post, and took her place. It would be this contest which would determine which one of them would get the rank of Force Captain.

Both of them settled into their respective positions, and the games began.

The Sorceress of Grayskull was dreaming.

She was watching the horrific events that led up to the kidnapping of Princess Adora and she felt like she was going through the misery all over again. 

The Sorceress had been unable to leave the Castle, even with the crystal, because of her pregnancy. The pain that she had gone through after Adora's capture, was compounded by the loss of her husband, who had died in the fight.

Waking from the horror, the Sorceress gasped, seeing the last thing that she would have expected. It was the Sword of Protection.

It glowed with a light that was brilliant, blinding and beautiful at the same time. The jewel in its center shone with rainbow iridescence.

It floated, of its own volition, to one of the many doors that seemed to come and go at random intervals throughout her tenure as Sorceress.

Only this time, it was ornate, and surrounded in deeply carved stone that marked a permanence to it that meant it was here to stay.

Awe filled her, when she realized what it might mean.

"After all these years," she said in a hushed, reverent voice. 

"We've finally found Adora." 


	4. Default Chapter Title

For the Love of Honor, Part 3

Disclaimer: She-Ra, Princess of Power belongs to Mattel and Filmation. I make no money from this, and do not own them in any way.

Authors Note: I have tried darned hard to put in some kind of border and will continue to do so. And yes, you are right, I have been going a little too fast in some parts, but I will again try to persevere. 

The Sorceress of Grayskull stood inside her home, and cradled the Sword of Protection to her chest. It had just led her to one of the many doors of Mystery that would come and go throughout the castle as the universe shifted and surged, coming into contact with other universes, or sometimes knotting up in itself. Only this time, there was a feeling of solidity, of permanence, like it was going to be here for as long as the stones of Grayskull would last.

Staring deep into the stone embedded in its jeweled hilt, a sharp thread of fear assaulted her. What if she was wrong and it _wasn't_ Adora that the sword was going to? Unlike the Sword of Power, this one would take active steps to find its next welder. While it had been foretold that it would be the twins that would take them up, well, prophecies had gone wrong before. A prophecy only saw one path that the future might take; there were many others.

It didn't matter in the end; she needed to get this Sword to its welder. Smiling slightly to herself, she thought of the perfect man for the job.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Adam, Prince of Eternia and He-Man's alter ego was in the kitchen.

It wasn't a very well known fact, but he loved this pastime. It was quiet, he didn't have to go smashing villains to do it, and it was some place that Teela would leave him alone.

He sighed softly at that thought, even as he kneaded the dough for the sweet bread. Adam liked Teela. Teela liked He-Man, and thought that Adam was a lazy idiot. That was not a comfortable combination, because Adam and He-Man were the same person, but neither were the whole. It was another thing he was going to have to work out, when Skeletor was finally defeated, whenever that would happen.

"Right," he mumbled to himself," and I'm the queen of Earth."

"Hey, Adam," he heard, and a rather cranky Cringer came into the kitchen.

It startled him out of his concentration on the dough, and he flung his hands up, and reached for his sword out of sheer spinal reflex.

"Geeze, Cringer, don't scare me like that!" he shouted, turned back to his bread, then flung the dough up in the air when the mind voice of the Sorceress called out to him.

"Adam," she said, sounding different from any time he had heard her. 

As always, his mind put a picture up of her, one that seemed to float in front of his eyes, and he tried to fathom the sudden change in her tone. Fear? Hope? A strange anticipation?

"Come to Castle Grayskull immediately," she commanded, and their mental contact winked out.

Adam sighed and looked at his dough. He had thrown it out an open window by accident. Grimacing, he turned to Cringer.

"Come on, the Sorceress needs us," he told his old friend.

"Oh no, here we go again," the striped cat whined.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I command the Jaw-bridge to open!" Adam stated, as he raised the Sword above his head.

Obligingly, the massive door lowered itself, crossing the gap between the castle and the rest of Eternia. Stepping onto the 'lower lip', Adam walked the huge distance to the castle. He had never quite gotten over the sense of vertigo that came whenever he crossed over. For all the courage that he had, the thought of falling into that chasm still gave him shivers.

The castle loomed, staring down at him. Its gray darkness, the sense of melancholy that pervaded, made him wonder if the ageless stones themselves didn't weep. 

It was a short hike, or a long walk, to the Sorceress' throne room.

Adam had expected to find her there, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Sorceress?" he called.

"Over here, Adam," she said from behind him. 

Turning, and telling himself very firmly that he was _not_ startled, he saw that she was standing in the shadows of one of the many corridors that branched off from the main hall. 

_I wonder if she does that just to amuse herself?_ He asked silently. Well considering where she lived, he could put up with her quirks, especially since did so often with him.

Peering into the darkness, he noticed the bright glint of metal, from a slim, straight shape clutched in the Sorceress' hands. He only got a brief look at it, before he was beckoned to follow her further down the arched, gloomy hallway. They didn't have far to go, even though for someone as acquainted with magic as Adam, it made him nervous. Cringer padded along behind him, silent, but shivering.

They stopped before one of the many doors lining the corridor. 

"Beyond this door lies another world," the Sorceress intoned, and paused, like she was searching for the words to say next. "I need you to find someone for me, Adam. I want you to give that someone this," she lifted the slim something up, and Adam gaped. It was a sword, and more to the point, it looked almost exactly like his!

He almost said the obvious, but held back. After a moment to think, he started to pick up a different 'feel' off it than he did from his own. 

"It's female," he found himself saying, wondering what that meant.

The sense of femininity that came from it certainly wasn't obvious. It looked like his, save for the jewel, and as he took it from the Sorceress' hand, he noticed that it had the same weight and balance. Yet, it wasn't made for a man's hand. 

"Who am I supposed to find?" he asked, hoping that for once, he would get a direct answer.

"You will know," she told him, and Adam swallowed a groan, but she went on, "for this Sword will guide you. It is like your Sword," she smiled, for she could guess what had gone on in her Champion's mind, "in that it has a special purpose, and you must find the one who is destined to weld it."

As she said this, the Door slowly creaked open. Magical force caused a sparkling curtain to obscure the sight past the entry way, so he couldn't even get a good look at the world he was going to. 

_But then,_ he thought, _when do I ever?_

"Come on, Cringer," he called to his friend, and they walked into another world.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Force Captain Adora stood at the corner of the recently ravaged village, and she wondered why she wasn't gloating in pleasure. They had made a successful raid for information on the "great" Rebellion, and had destroyed many of the suppliers of that band of insects.

Looking at her maps, and snarling in frustration when she realized that they would have to go around a river, because the Rebels had destroyed one of the main bridges over it, she heard a loud crashing from outside.

"Burrrrn it!" rasped the voice of Catra from the midst of a crowd.

They were all holding torches, and Adora looked at them aghast. 

"I order you to stop!" she roared at them, using all the authority she could get, using her height, her harsh voice, and all the weight that her battle armor could give.

Catra looked back at her and hissed, while Mantenna and Leech almost laughed. Pulling out her stunner, she spat a beam of energy between Mantenna's eyes. 

"No burning," she commanded, her voice cold.

"Oh, come on, Captain," slobbered Leech. He had a torch in hand and a tank of fuel in the other. "Let us have a little fun!"

"I said _no_. Do you want me to court martial you for insubordination?" she demanded, eyes and voice both cool, her hand lifting the stunner steady.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Adora asked again, as some of the other troopers edged their way over to the already damaged modest town hall, torches in hand.

Their eyes locked, but in the end, everyone knew who would win this contest of wills.

Retreating to their barracks, the troopers put out the flames. Catra glared daggers, but said nothing. She was the senior officer, and Hordak's favorite. Catra chose to believe that was why she obeyed. She didn't want to admit that it was because she was afraid of her.

Adora finally stood alone, and stared at the place she had just destroyed. There were dead bodies on the ground, some of them killed by her own hand. Her sword was in its sheath, with the blood of her victims still staining the hilt.

"It was war," she said softly, looking back at the fires that hadn't been started for fun, the charred bodies that lay draped on their own front porches.

If only she could make herself believe it.

Wearily she trudged back to her tent. She pealed off her armor without the help of her steward, put it on its wrack, and stumbled over to her washstand. Looking in the mirror, the face that stared back at her was barely recognizable.

A thin, fine training scar slashed down before her right ear, and was not very visible in the faint light. Her hair, which already sported some gray, even at the age of nineteen, was clipped close to her head. Her nose was slightly askew because of being broken when she was thirteen, and the beginnings of lines surrounded her eyes. 

"The face of an old campaigner," she said with a faint chuckle, and she splashed the cold water of the pitcher into the basin, and smoothed her aching hands. Looking at them, she saw the rough calluses of fighting.

Only her blue eyes were young, she thought, glancing back up at the mirror. Wincing as bruised muscles protested the long day, she continued to strip off her blood red outer tunic, until she wore only her black body suit. Red riding boots followed as she fell into her cot, and Force Captain Adora was asleep.

She dreamt, and in those dreams, she saw another village, from another lifetime, destroyed, and hearing a voice saying, "We had to destroy that village you were in to get you to come out."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Adam had walked to a nearby village, one that seemed to be prosperous. He entered an inn, hoping to be unobtrusive, but also hoping to ask some questions.

The silence that announced his entrance could have been cut with a knife.

"Uh, may I help you sir?" a voice asked from the side.

"Yes, I would like some food," he said deferentially. After all, he wasn't a prince here. He was glad that he had some money.

"And I would like some baked fish," added Cringer.

Staring at the green and yellow striped tiger, the inn keeper exclaimed," He talked!"

Acting nonchalant, (who knew that they wouldn't have talking animals here?) Adam commented, "Doesn't everybody?" and tried to keep from laughing at the man's expression.

Sitting down and waiting for their meals, Adam did some crowd watching. For the most part, they seemed like your average peasants. His meal arrived, and pretending to pay attention to that, he took stock of anything that might be unusual.

His eyes were drawn first to the minstrel, then to another man with what looked to be a bird with really big ears. The bird was brightly colored, with rainbow stripes down the sides of those huge ears, and was a bright salmon in color, with a short beak. His companion, on the other hand, was draped in a dark cloak. While that in itself wasn't all that suspicious, there was almost a theatrical way in which the cloaked man carried himself, like he was the villain or spy in a badly written play.

A time passed, and both Adam and the man in the hood eyed each other suspiciously. They came to a silent agreement, and started watching the rest of the crowd. From the idle talk that Adam could overhear, some group called "the Horde" was going to be raising taxes again, and that the weather had been bad for crops, and that those rebels wouldn't last long because Force Captain Adora was coming after them.

Adam's gaze had drifted away, when he heard a door slam open.

In it, were two men, at least he assumed they were men, in armor. The breastplate was blazoned with a symbol that reminded him of a bat, only in red. No face was visible.

They swaggered in, but their dramatic entrance was marred by the start of the minstrels singing.

It was a good song, thought Adam, sung by a halfway descent voice, which should have been what the crowd would expect in a place like this.

Only the Hordesmen didn't like it. 

They had sat down to eat, but they listened for a little while.

"Hey, you," one said, gesturing toward the minstrel. "Dance."

"But," the little minstrel said, his voice shaking, "I don't know how to dance!"

"Well, that is your problem, isn't it?" said #2, who picked up the minstrel's lute, and smashed it.

"NO! My lute!" he shouted, and picked up the instrument, and cradled it like it was a child. 

"Now, we will smash you!" said #3, and together, the troop walked menacingly over to the little man, who was on his knees, weeping.

Adam innocently put his foot out.

#1 tripped, followed by #2, and #3 was close behind.

No one in the common room could help himself or herself when they saw it. They burst out laughing.

There was something like a mechanical snarl from the troopers. 

"Trip a Horde trooper, will you?" said the outraged voice of the leader. "I'll teach you to show proper respect!"

Lifting his stunner, the Hordesman opened fire. Adam narrowly ducked, and the others charged him.

What had started as a silly farce was now deadly serious.

Adam kicked, catching one in the knee, while at the same time, jabbing with his left. Reaching out, he upended the table that he had been sitting at.

He was hit by a glancing blow from a stunner, causing him to stagger, and the hooded man leapt into the fray.

Sweeping the feet from beneath one, the hooded man pulled a bow and arrows from beneath his cloak. Drawing the bow, he fires at one of the troopers, which falls to the ground.

The Hordesmen look at their fallen comrade. 

One picked him up, while the other said, "We will remember this stranger. Just you wait, this town will pay for what you have done!"

"What was that all about?" asked Adam rhetorically.

Looking around, Adam wanted to gape at the material damage. No one was hurt, but he could see that it had been a close thing.

The after shocks of battle were settling in, as he realized what _could_ have happened. Shivering, he looked over at Cringer, who, predictably, was hiding under a table.

"Well done, friend."

Looking to see who had said that, he was greeted by the man who had been wearing the cloak and cowl. The hood was gone now, and he could see the man's thick, reddish brown hair, handsome, almost pretty, face, and dramatic mustache. 

"I'm Bow," he said, reaching out his hand.

"Um, I'm Adam," he said, taking the handclasp, but not really knowing how to respond. 

To Adam's relief, his grip was firm, and the hand itself was callused. This man knew something of what he was doing, anyway.

"I would suggest that you leave," said a soft, furtive voice.

It was the innkeeper. "I thank you, but may have brought down worse upon us. I would ask you to leave."

Looking around worriedly, Adam noticed that the people who should have celebrating the defeat of those bullies were leaving, quickly.

"The Horde troops will be here soon, once they heard about what happened," the innkeeper went on," they will retaliate. They don't allow any kind of resistance, especially here in Brightmoon, since they took over."

Adam noticed that the innkeeper was trembling, and wondered what could be causing such fear.

"I heard that they would be bringing in Force Captain Adora. I guess it could have been one of the other Captains, but still…" he said, looking around like he wanted to run off and cry.

Turning to Bow as the man hurried off, he asked, "What will happen to them?"

Sadness clouded the archer's face. 

"They will likely destroy his inn, if not the village, and that would be if he was lucky," he said softly.

"And if he is…unlucky?" Adam asked, dreading the answer.

"He, and likely everyone else here, will be killed."

Adam was shocked. He could see that something was very wrong here, but he would never have guessed…

"What can I do to stop it?" he found himself asking before he realized it.

Bow smiled tightly. Putting out his hand again, he said, "Adam, welcome to the Great Rebellion."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~

"Force Captain Adora, come in," said the dispassionate voice of the dispatcher.

"Adora here, go," she replied, after putting down the map that she had been pouring over.

"You are needed to go the nearest village in Brightmoon. It shouldn't be hard to find, it borders the Whispering Woods. There was an insurrection against several troops, and one was injured. You are needed to go put down their rebellion," buzzed her communicator.

"Is there anything else?" she asked. She had been hoping for a free afternoon. It was boring dealing with these hopeless deviants.

"You will report to Lord Hordak afterwards, and he will hear your report on the latest information raid. Horde Control out."

Adora grimaced. She knew that Mighty Hordak would reprimand her for her lack of destruction. 

At that thought, an internal battle started.

The majority, the part that always won, was the overwhelming voice that said that she owed the Horde everything, that they were the rightful rulers of this world, and that she had no right in the universe to complain, to think that the Horde was wrong.

Yet there was a small, demanding, wailing voice that would rail against it. It was the part that would steer her away from casual destruction and killing. It was what kept her from jumping into bed with any male that came around, and what made her such a good captain. She had never told Hordak or Shadow Weaver, because that same small voice was what kept her from doing it. It was precious, that voice, because when she listened to it, she tended to be right, and win, which was what the Horde part of her said was the most important thing.

So, even though all the training she had received told her that it was wrong, and that she needed to be rid of it. She hid that small part of her that had the stubbornly annoying habit of kindness, and gave her the understanding of other people, something the rest of the Horde didn't seem to care about.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, where are we going?" Adam asked, wondering why he even bothered to ask. They had been walking on foot for the past several hours through a forest that looked nothing like the pines he had been used to as a child. It was as dense, and as green, but there was a great deal of low-lying shrubs, at least he assumed they were shrubs, and other things that he had never seen before.

"We are in the Whispering Woods, my friend. Here, is a place where evil can never enter."

Bow lapsed into silence after that. They continued to walk, and before sunset, they were able to get to the main camp.

Adam was hoping that he would have some powerful allies to call upon, but from the state of things, they were barely able to survive.

There was one tent that was slightly larger, and that was the one that Bow led him to. Opening the flap, he ushered the Eterian Prince in.

Adam had to squint to adjust himself to the faint light. There was a large table, with a young woman standing over it, looking at maps, charts, and supply lists. Taking stock of her, Adam saw that she was young, possibly younger than he was, with hair that was a faint lavender, but most of it was brown. She was clad in purple, which made him wonder if she was a noble of some kind, with gray trousers.

"Adam," Bow said, "this is Princess Glimmer, leader of the Rebellion. Glimmer, this is Adam. I met him today at the inn." Bow went on to describe what happened with only a little bit of dramatizing.

"I didn't mean for those people to get caught in the middle of this," Adam told her. "Is there any way that we can stop them from harming that village?"

Glimmer looked at him, eyes searching. 

"How good are you in a fight?" she asked, sounding like she was trying to figure out a plan.

"I'm pretty good, but I have a friend that would be even better, and he would show up when we needed him."

"How good?" she shot back, eyes skeptical.

Adam met her eyes levelly. "Better than just about anyone you have here."

She closed her eyes, and Adam had to wonder what she had gone through. 

Taking a deep breath, Glimmer said, "Well, we are supposed to be the **Great** Rebellion. I guess we have to start somewhere."

She started calling out orders. The bird, Kowl, that was Bow's friend, started flying to get whatever orders he could out.

Turning to Adam, she said softly, "Here we go."

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is that the same town we left?" Adam asked, flabbergasted.

It was under siege. All around it, were Horde soldiers, and all of them had taken up positions around the perimeter. 

To his left, Adam heard a sharp hiss from Glimmer.

"What is it?" he asked, alarmed.

"It's her," she said, scowling. She handed him the binoculars she had been using. Putting them to his eyes, Adam scanned the area.

"Who am I supposed to be looking for?" he asked, but then he figured it out.

While there were many colorful characters down there, there was only one that was in command. His first impression of her was that of control. From her black armor with its red symbol, to her short blond hair, she was someone who knew command, and she could take control of a situation like breathing.

He was impressed. 

"What is so bad about her?" he asked, but from what he had already heard, he could very well nigh guess.

"She's that _good_, " Glimmer sighed. "Captain Adora is one of the best strategists that the Horde has, but at least she isn't the cruelest. I think our chances just went down."

"I don't know. Things might change when my friend shows up."

"Just make sure that he does," Glimmer admonished, starting to head down the slope to the town.

Watching the lovely princess scurry down the hill, Adam shook his head. Ducking behind a convenient tree, he pulled his sword free.

"_By the Power of Grayskull-_"

There was the familiar sight of Grayskull, lending him it's strength, and then lighting split the air-

"**I HAVE THE POWER!**"

Power and the mantle of responsibility that came with it, settled like a cloak over the Prince of Eternia. Like a cloak, too, He-Man would never be the real person, but He-Man was more needed than his alter ego than at the moment.

Running down to join his friends, he was blocked by a Horde tank. It was easy to crush it in his bare hands.

For a moment, Glimmer was awe-struck.

"Whoa," she said appreciatively, but it distracted her for too long. Leech grabbed her from behind. He put his suckers on her head, and she fell, all her strength gone.

"Glimmer!" Bow yelled, and raced to his fallen leader.

"No!" shouted He-Man. 

Grizzlor came up from nowhere, and started to put a bear hug on him. He-Man saw a large black panther hurtling itself at him, and he spun around, making his attacker take the impact.

He could see that the Rebels were getting the civilians to safety, and that Bow was dragging the insensible Rebel leader out of the crossfire.

Sighing with relief, he turned to go, but his way was blocked.

"Already leaving, stranger?" asked Captain Adora, her eyes mocking him.

"What is a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" he responded, matching her tone.

"Defeating _you_."

"Right," he said, watching her draw her sword.

Pulling his own, he swung, and it cut through hers like it was pot metal. 

She was in too close though, because she was able to bring up the hilt, and smash him in the face with it. That was followed with a kick to the groin, and while He-Man was the most powerful man in the universe, he was still male. He groaned, and fell over. 

Not for long, though. He blocked her axe-kick, and she lost her footing.

Picking up his sword, he realized that he held the Sorceress' blade instead. In took him by surprise when it glowed with an unearthly light.

The jewel caught him off guard, and even as he tried to figure out what it meant, he was kicked in the face, and knocked unconscious.

Gasping for breath, Captain Adora looked down at her prize.

Picking up her foe's sword, she felt a gentle tingle, and it seemed like energy had jumped from it, to her.

"I'll figure out the mystery of where you came from, stranger," she said, her wind back.

Staring into the depths of the jewel, she added softly, "You, and this…curious…sword."


End file.
